Al Sarrantonio (1952–2025)

Worse than mediocre "Halloween" novel about the end of the world. The characters are so two dimensional and the dialog so wooden we never end up caring about anyone and consequently never invested in their outcome. The action however is totally berserk from the first page with monsters, murderous possessed persons, venomous insect swarms, and poltergeists making appearances at regular and frequent intervals. Somehow Sarrantonio manages the brilliant feat of making none of it the least bit show more creepy or even that gruesome. By the time it should become a page turner the whole attitude is lets get this over with. It can't even manage the feat of being so bad it is a humorous self-parody of the genre. show less

"And then what happened."...the four words that every storyteller longs to hear. That child-like impulse is the essence of what Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio wanted to evoke with this collection. On that basis, they were largely successful. These diverse stories, written by an impressive array of writers, kept me turning the pages and, yes, wondering what would happen next.

In some cases, I didn't have to wonder long. The stories range in length from a mere three pages to an impressive 48. show more Despite his name appearing in 72-point font on the book's cover, Mr. Gaiman contributes only one story in addition to his introduction. So, die-hard Gaiman fans, don't be disappointed. Instead, revel in the embarrassment of riches that have been brought together. This story collection features contributors who are among the best in genre fiction (Gene Wolfe, Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Swanwick, Peter Straub), literary fiction (Stuart O'Nan, Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, Roddy Doyle), and popular fiction (Jeffrey Deaver, Jodi Picoult, Joe Hill, Chuck Palahniuk). Honestly, I barely brushed the surface of all the big-name contributors, so very many of whom are long-time favorites of mine.

I'll be honest, not every single story is a slam dunk, but not one was a stinker. The overall quality of contributions is high. Whether you're looking for quick palate cleansers between longer works, or you're looking forward to reading this collection cover to cover, I feel confident in asserting that there's something for everyone to be found within these pages. show less

Horrorween collects three novellas by Al Sarrantonio, all based in the town of Orangefield, NY, the pumpkin capital of the world. Aside from the town's reputation for pumpkins, Orangefield is also known for "Sam sightings", appearances by Samhain, the Celtic Lord of the Dead.

The first story, Hornets, deals with Phillip Kerlan, a popular author of children’s horror stories. He is having trouble writing a Halloween-themed short story dealing with Samhain, the Lord of the Dead that doesn’t show more come off as too scary for his young readers.

The stress of this writers block is causing strife in his marriage. He hits a bit of luck and completes the story in a single night only to wake up and find his wife has left him (or did she?)… All this during a particularly warm October.

A pleasant story, but a slightly different presentation would have made it much better. The problem is that the story is so simple that it telegraphs its twists (though the ending really was a surprise). Overall, Hornets is a good story with a strong ending, but at almost a hundred pages was a little too long.

The second story The Pumpkin Boy starts with a wallop as a young boy spies a mechanical man with a pumpkin for a head tramping through his back yard. He trails this 'pumpkin boy' through various pumpkin patches and into the woods until he is lost.

A strange and spooky story with a very, very well done atmosphere. It's unfortunately hamstrung by a terrible ending that felt like it was lifted from Scooby Doo.

The final section of the book is the novella Orangefield, which is also the best story of the book. We follow four separate characters through the month of October. They are all (to varying degrees) being influenced by Samhain, but to what purpose?

Each character's story was intriguing and the characters had enough depth to make me care about them.

Unlike Hornets, I was wishing Orangefield was a little longer. It could have easily been expanded into a novel. I would have liked a little more detail on what Samhain's plans were and maybe to spend a little more time expanding the characters.

I liked Mr. Sarrantonio’s writing. He did a very good job of evoking autumn and the feeling of Halloween. The atmosphere he created reminded me a little of something Ray Bradbury would have done but didn't feel in any way like a swipe.

Each story had enough troubles to keep this from being a book I would really push, but it is a nice, not too deep read if you are looking for something suitably spooky in the days leading up to Halloween. show less

I have a theory that the more well known an author is, the less he gets edited. Here is what a good editor would have said to him: "Neil, I know these stories are by your buddies and are an homage to your genre. But most of these stories are poorly written, boring, unoriginal and lack any true emotion. Some are even down right embarrassing. The best are mediocre. This book would never have gotten published without your name on the cover."

I forced myself to finish the book, hoping in the name show more of Gaiman to find at least one gem in the collection. I suffered through this, so you my dear friends, might be spared. Skip this book. show less